Vending machine



' July 7, 1931. w. c. LAUGHLI'N 1,813,299

VENDING MACHINE Filed Nov. 9.31927 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

24 67/607 Laugh/('22 A TTORNEYS July 7, 1931. w. c. LAUGHLIN ,8

' VENDING MACHINE Filed Nov. 9, 1927 a sheets-sheet 2 Q If/ any 2 INVEN TOR.

A TTORNEYJ July 7, 193 1. w. c. LAUGHLIN VENDING MACHINE 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Nov. 9. 1927 QM m 9% N i Q A L 6! M m 0 m W md m Patented July 7, 1931 1 UNITED STATES "PATENT OFF CE WILLIAM C. LAUGHLIN, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-THIRD TO JOHN P. FIFE, F CLEVELAND, OHIO, AND DIVE-THIRD 'IO WILLIAM 'I. FIFE, OF ATLANTA,

GEORGIA vnnnine MACHINE Application filed November 9, 1927. Serial No. 232,076.

.The present invention, as indicated, relates to a-machine for vending articles, and is primarily. intended for, automatically vending newspapers, though it may be apg plied to dispensing almost any type of article which is relatively thin and-which is stiff enough tobe raised by pressure appliedto its lower edge. The primary object ,of'the invention is to provide such a machine which 10 will becertain in it's operation, whichwill dispense a newspaper or other article imme: diately upon the deposit by the customer of the proper number of'coins, and .which will thereafter move anotherarticle into position 1:; to be dispensed, and which will carry outits intended movements with great certainty in spite of rough handling to which such a device is likely to be subjected. 'To the accomplishment ofithe foregoing and related ends, said invention,fthen, consists of the means hereinafter fully described and particularly pointed out in the claims.

The annexed drawings and the following description set forth in detail certain mechanism embodying the invention,suchdisclosed means constituting, however, but one of various mechanical forms in which the principle ofthe invention maybe used;

In said annexed drawings:

Fig. 1.is a front elevation of 'a machine, the front'wall'and display case having been removed; Fig. 2 is a p'lan View of themachine, the top wall of the casinghaving been removed;.Fig. 3 is-a sideelevation of the machine, one side wall having been removed, and looking from the right of Fig. 2,; Fig. 4 is a fragmental side elevation looking from the left of Fig. :2; Fig. 5 is .a more or less diagrammatic sectional view taken substantially on-'the line=.5-5 ofF-ig..2, and looking $111 the direction 1 of the arrows Fig.6 is a sectional view of a detail; Fig. ,7 is a more or less diagrammatic view of one of the retaining fingers and its operating mechanism; Fig. 8 is :a diagrammatic view ofone of the detailss'hown in Fig. 5 and showing the'mannerin which-the articles to be vended are operated upon the lifting members; Fig.*-9"is anelevation'dfadtaibon an enlarged scale ,and Fig. 10 is a perspective View of the machine. I

The present device includes a casing having a bottom wall 1 and a front wall 2-, top'wall 3, back wall 4, and side walls 5, said casing enclosing the mechanism to be described;

Referring particularly to Fig. 2, a motor 6 which has; been illustrated as a spring motor,

but which may take any well-known'form, 1s

mountedin-said casing and carries on one end of its spindle a beveled gear 7 which cooperates with a beveled gear 8 on a winding shaft 9. The other end '10 of the motor spindle carries a driving gear 11 which meshes with a gear 12 ona camshaft '13.

Said cam shaft carries a latch trip 14and a finger actuating cam 15 as a cog wheel 16;

"The cog 16 meshes with a main shaft gear 17 mounted on a shaft 18 (see Fig.4) which will be more particularly referred to hereinafter. A. short independent shaft 19 is journalled adjacent said gears 16 and 17 and carries a pinion 19 in mesh with the'cog 16. Said shaft 19 further carries a gear 20 which meshes with a governor drive gear 21 mounted on the governor shaft 22 (see Fig.1 1)

(see Fig. 5) as Well which drives the governor 23. A pair of latch fingers 24 and Y25 are adapted to cooperate with a latch 26 (see Fig. 5) mounted on a rockshaft 27 and provided with a latch shoulder 28. The end of the governor shaft 22 is journalled in a support 29 and carries a dog 30 for cooperation with said shoulder 28. The latch fingers 24 and 25 are pivoted at 31 to a support 32. The right hand end of the shaft27 as viewedffrom the frontof'the machinecarries a latch operating'lever 33 (see Fig. 3).

Alever 34 is pivoted as at 35 on a support in said casing and one end 34' thereof ispositioned for cooperation with the cam 15 (see Fig. 5). iTheother end of said lever cooperates with a link36 which is pivoted to an arm 37 secured to a rock shaft 38. Said rockshaft 38 carries a plurality of arms 39 '(seeFig: 6) all of which areidentical in their structure, connections and operation. There- 'foreenly one' will be'describedJ The free end'dfsai'd arm 39 carries a a pin 40 which i is received in a slot 41 in a link 42 pivoted as at 43 to a projection 44 on a finger 45. Each of said lingers 45 is mounted on the rock shaft 46 which extends completely across the front of the casing as will be clear from an inspection of Figs. 1 and 2. The linger 45 is provided with a reduced extension 47, the purpose of which will be hereinafter explained, and a weight 48 is secured to the lower end of the link 42.

Each end of the shaft 18 carries a lever arm 49, (see Fig. 4) and each of said lever arms is provided at its free end with a pin 50 received in a slot 51 formed in one end of a lever 52 pivoted at 53 to the machine frame. At its opposite end, each lever 52 has at tached thereto, one end of a lifting rod 54. The machine skeleton carries a plurality of guide frames 55 (see Figs. 2 and 5), and each such frame is provided with a lower projection 56 and an upper projection 57, said projections being perforated to receive pairs of rods 58 slidable therein. Each pair of rods carries a pivot rod 59, and pivotally mounted on each of said rods 59 is a bell crank lever 60. One arm 61 of said bell crank lever is provided with a slot 62 receiving the lifting rod 54. The other arm 63 of the bell crank lever is substantially longer than the arm 61 and is provided at its free end with a pivot 64 mounting a lifting finger 65. Each lifting finger comprises a hook 66 rigidly secured to a presser member 67, and it will be noted that by this arrangement, pressure exerted toward the left in Fig. 5 on the presser member 67 will tend to throw said hook 66 toward the right.

Referring again to Fig. 2, the machine is provided with two supports 68 extending from the front to the back thereof. Only one of said supports 68 is shown in the drawings, since the other support overlies the gear train shown at the left of Fig. 2 and would obscure said train if it were included in the drawings, but it is to be understood that the support 68 and its cooperating parts illustrated at the right in Fig. 2 and illustrated in detail in Fig. 7 is duplicated in all respects at the left end of the machine as seen in Fig. 2. Said support 68 comprises a channel member receiving a block 69 which is secured therein by means of a screw 70. Said support is provided adjacent its forward end with a slot 71, and the block 69 is formed with a slot 72 registering with said slot 71. Slidably mounted on the block 69 is a slide member 73 retained in position on said block 69 by means of screws 74 and 75 secured to the slide 73 and having their heads engaging the bottom surface of the support 68, said screws 74 and 75 passing through the slots 71 and 72 and acting as stops. An extension spring 7 6 is secured at one end to the screw 74 and at its other end to a screw 77 mounted in the support 68. The slide 73 carries a pair of ears 78 between which is pivoted a bell crank lever 79, the long arm 80 of which is provided with an upwardly extending finger 81. The other arm 82 of said lever 79 has pivotally secured thereto as at 83 a link 84, the opposite end of which is pivoted as at 85 to a lever 86 pivoted at 87 to a support- 88. The lever 79 is provided adjacent its apex with a lug 89. The lever 86 carries a roller 90, and a cam 91, having an abrupt tooth 92, is mounted on the shaft 18 in cooperative relation with said roller 90.

Referring now to Fig. 4, it will be seen that the shaft 13 carries a cam 93 at the left end of the machine as viewed in Fig. 1, and that said cam 93 is formed with an abrupt tooth 94 for cooperation with a lever 95. Said lever 95 is mounted on a rock shaft 96 journalled in a support 011 the machine frame, and carrying an arm 97, to which is pivotally attached as at 98, a link 99, pivoted at its opposite end as at 100 to a short lever 101 mounted on a shaft 102 journalled at the front of the machine frame. Said shaft 102 carries a narrow platform 103 (see Fig. 2) which forms the bottom of a display case hereinafter to be described.

Fig. 2 clearly discloses a plurality of article-supporting rack bars 104 which extend from the front to the rear wall of said machine. These rack bars are slightly tilted as is shown in Fig. 8, the front ends of said bars being at a slightly higher level than the rear ends thereof. A supporting back member 105 is slidably mounted on bars 106 extending from the front to the rear of the machine, and compression springs 107 are mounted between said back member 105 and abutments formed at the rear ends of said bars 106, and said springs tend to move said back member forwardly, thus exerting a forward pressure on the articles supported on the bars 104. Said back member is braced and steadied by means of Jacobs ladders 108 secured thereto and to supports on the machine at either end of the back member.

Referring now to Fig. 3 which discloses the coin-operating release mechanism, it will be seen that a coin slot 109 is formed in the upper end of the machine. The lower end 110 of the slot 109 is open at its front edge, and a channel-shaped latch member 111 is pivoted thereto at 112 and closes said open front edge. The latch member 111 is formed with a rearwardly projecting latch finger 113, the purpose of which will be hereinafter described. Adjacent the rear portion of the machine and at the right hand end thereof, there is mounted a short rock shaft 114 on which is secured a block 115 carrying a forwardly projecting arm 116. At the free front end of said arm 116 there is mounted a coin cup 117 carrying an upwardly projecting loop of wire 118 for cooperation with the finger 113 of the latch member 111. Said block 11 5 .alsocarries a rearwardlyfprojecting arm 119, the free end of which carries an adjustable weight (not 7 shown). A guard strip 120 is mounted adjacent the, open front end of the cup 117 and tends to guide coins discharged from said cup into a second coin chute 121. A second short rock shaft 122 is mounted'dircctly below the rock shaft 114 (see Figs. 2 and 3) and carries a block 123 similar to theblock 115. Said block 123 carries an arm 124 similar to the arm 116 at tached to the free front end of which is a cup 125 disposed:immediately below the low- .er end of the chute 121. Said block further carries a rearwardly projecting arm126 similar to the arm 119, and said arm 126 carries an adjustable weight 127 (see Fig.2). The

block 123 has attachedto its rear end a br-ack-- et 128 to the free end of which is pivotally attached as at 129, alink 130 'pivotally attached at its opposite endv asat 131 toone arm 132 of arbell'cranklever pivotally mounted as at133 on a support in the machine'frame.

A second link 134is attached to the arm 132 and is pivoted as at 135 to the latch operating lever 33. Said latch operating lever 33 is formed on its upper edge with a notch 136 adapted to receive thelatch arm 137 of said bell crank lever. A storage cup or box 138 isprovided to receive coins discharged from the cup 125, anda guard'strip' 139 guides suchcoins into'saidzbox.

The front wall2 includes a display'chamber orchute which isprovided with a trans ,parent panel 140, and it :is this chamber which is closed at its bottom-by the platform I 103.

Theoperationofthe-machine is as follows: Newspapers 141' or other similar articles are loadedinto thechamber, the bottom of which is formedby the bars 104, the back member 105 having been retracted to its'rearmostposition in which the springs 107 arecomplete- 1y compressed. Latch members (notshown) areprovided for holding said back mernber 105, in its retracted position during loading of the ma0hine,'and when the articles to ,be vende'dhave been loaded into the machine,

saidlatch member-s are disengaged from the back member 105. The springs '107 are thus released 'toefl'ecta pressure on the articles 141, and this pressure is transmitted to'the centsapiece. Consequently it is necessary, in

a machine of the type disclosed, to provide-an .oper-ating'means which will'not'be actuated byone coin but which willrequire two or three for actuation. Presuming that the a articles injthe machine are to be sold for two cents -a.piece,'the operation is as follows 2 A penny160 is dropped into the slot 109. The latch member 111'is hung in such a position .that the passage normally defined between itwandthe lower end 110 of-the coin chute 109 is narrower than the diameter of a coin which is to be used. Thus, as the coin falls through the :slot. 109, it strikes the forward edge of the memberlll and rotates said member in a clockwise direction about the pivot 112, and

then falls intothe cup 117. The adjustable weight on the end of the arm 19 is set to such a position'that the weight of a singlecoin will move the arm 116 in a counterclockwise direction, but willmove said arm rather slowly.

As soon as the coin has dropped into the cup 117, the member'lll swings back into the position disclosed in Fig. 3, in'which'the finger '113is disposed inthe path of the upper end of the loop *118. Thus, as the'arm 116.is swung downwardly, theloop 118 catches on the finger-13 .and prevents the arm from rotating beyond a horizontal position. If a secondcoin is now dropped intoithe chute 109, it

strikes the 1 latch element 111 :and swings it againzin a clockwise direction, releasingthe engagementbetweenthe finger '113 and the loop 118 and allowing the arm 116 to rotate farther in .a counterclockwise direction. .The

and, as the arm 116continues toro'tatedue to theweiglit of-the coinsin the cup 117, the two coins are discharged from the open'front end of the=cup 117 The guard 120 guides.

the'twocoins'into the open upper end of the chute 121 which, in turn, guides said coins intothe cup 125. I

'It maybe here noted that it'isrpossibi'lefto set-.the'weighton theend of the'arm11'9 in -lOO second coinis likewisecaught in the cup 117 I such a position that the first coin dropped into the cup 117 will not'rotate the arm 116 at all. Insu'ch case, the second coin operates the mechanism above described in the manner in which the first coin operates itwvhere articles are'to besold 'for'two cents, andit requires'a'third coin "to release the'engagement between the hook 113'and the loop118 andpermit the coins inthe cup 117 to be dis charged into the chute 121.

When the coins fall into the cup 125,: they rotate the arm 124in a counterclockwise direction, and through the agency of the bracket 128; link 130, link 134, and arm 33, the latch shaft 27 is rotated in a counterclockwise direction torotatethe latch26 to release the dog30. When the latch 26 is rotated, the latch fingers 24 and 25 drop over the end thereof-and retain said -latch 26 in suchla position (that theido g :will.;not, during the rotation of the shaft 22, strike the shoulder 28.

The engagement of the dog 30 with the shoulder 28 is the only thing which prevents operation of the motor 6, and when such engagement is released, the motor begins to retate and to drive the gear train. The operations hereinafter to be described occur practically simultaneously, but tney will be described individually first and then coordinated. As the motor drives the gear 11, said gear rotates the shaft 13 through the agency of the gear 12, and the cam 14 which, in the position of rest, is engaged with the finger 25 but disengaged with the finger 24, releases said finger 25.

The cam 14 continues to rotate out of engagement with the fingers 24 and 25 and near the end of its single revolution strikes the adjacent end of the latch finger 24. Thus the latch finger 24 is moved out ofengagement with the upper end of the latch 26, while the latch finger 25 remains in engagement therewith to prevent any movement of the saidv latch 26. A slightly further rotation of the cam 14 brings it into engagement with the adjacent end of the latch finger 25, thereby moving the latch finger 25-out of engagement with the latch 26 and allowing the latch to be returned to a position in which the shoulder 28 is disposed in the path of the dog 30. This return movement is caused by the weight 127 which over-balances the empty weight of the cup 125 and rotates the block 123 in a clockwise direction to move the arm 33 in a clockwise direction through the agency of the bracket 128 and the connecting links 130 and 134. The machine is thus brought once more to rest, and in this position, the cam 14 is again engaged with the latch finger 25 and disengaged from the latch finger 24. Thus the latch finger 24 is resting against the top of the latch 26 and is ready to fall into retaining engagement with said latch 26 as soon as said latch is again rotated by the block 123.

As the shaft 13 rotates, the cam 15 cooperates with the end 34 of the lever 34 to move said lever very quickly about its axis 35 in a counterclockwise direction. Such movement of the lever 34 rotates the arm 37 and rock shaft 38 in a clockwise direction through. the medium of the link 36. The arm 39 par ticipates in this movement and, through the medium of the pin 40 moves the link 42 upwardly to rotate the finger 45 in a counterclockwise direction to discharge a newspaper or other article into the display chute.

The gear 16 drives the gear 17 which is mounted on the shaft 18, and rotates said shaft in a counterclockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 4. The arm 49 is thus rotated in a counterclockwise direction, and through the medium of the pin 50 and slot 51 moves the lever 52 to raise the rod 54. Said rod 54, because of its engagement with the arm 61 of the lever tends to rotate said lever in a clockwise direction, but such rotation is impossible because of the engagement of the lifting fingers 65 with the articles 141 which are prevented from rearward movement by the back plate 105. Consequently said rod 54 causes vertical upward movement of the levers 60 and guide rods 58. Since the hook 66 is engaged beneath the forwardmost article in the storage compartment, said forwardmost article is raised also vertically upward, and this must take place at such a time that, at its uppermost limit, the projections 47 on the fingers 45 engage beneath the lower edge of said article.

The shaft 18 also carries the cams 91 for operating the fingers 81 (see Fig. 7). As the shaft 18 rotates, the cams 91 engage the rollers 99 on the levers 86 and move the links 84 rearwardly. The first effect of said links is to rotate the levers 79 about their axes in a clockwise direction, thus raising the fingers 81. The lugs 89 strike the surfaces of the slides 73 at the end of the motion of the links 84, and the further effect of such motion is to move the slides rearwardly along the blocks 69 until the screws 74 come into engagement with the rearward ends of the slots 71 and 7 2.

The shaft 13 carries also the cam 93 which cooperates with the lever 95. It will be noted from an inspection of Fig. 4 that the tooth 94 of the cam 93 is, in the rest position of the machine, just about to release its engagement with the lever 95. The moment the motor is released, the tooth 94 falls ofi of the lever 95 and the overbalanced weight of the platform 103 rotates the shaft 102 in a counterclockwise direction as seen in Fig. 4. As the shaft 13 nears the end of its single revolution, the cam 93 engages the lever 95 to rotate it in a counterclockwise direction, thus rotating the lever 97 in a similar direction and, through the medium of the link 99,

rotating the arm 101, shaft 102, and platform 103, in a clockwise direction again to close the lower end of the display chute.

All of the above mentioned shafts make only a single revolution during the cycle of operation of the machine. The cog 16, however, drives the pinion 19 on the shaft 19 which carries also the much larger gear 20 which cooperates with a small pinion on the shaft 22 mounting the governor 23. Consequently said shaft 22, governor 23, and dog 30 rotate very speedily and make a large number of revolutions during one cycle of the machine. Co-ordinating, now, the various movements of the machine, it will be seen that, when the latch 26 is moved out of engagement with the dog 30, the first thing that happens is that the platform 103 is dropped to permit the article retained in the display chute to fall out of the machine and be delivered to the purchaser.

As the each finger, a link pivoted to each projection, each of said links being provided with a slot in its free end, means tending resiliently to urge rotation of said rock shaft in one direction, means to overcome the tendency of said means comprising a second rock shaft mounted adjacent said slotted ends of said links, a plurality of arms carried by said second rock shaft and provided with pins at their free ends respectively received in said link slots, a further arm carried by said second rock shaft and having a link connected to its free end, a lever pivoted intermediate its ends and having one end connected to said lastmentioned link, and a cam on said first-mentioned shaft adapted to engage the opposite end of said last-mentioned lever.

6. In a vending machine, a storage chamber for articles to be vended, resilient means tending to urge such articles toward the front of said chamber, a plurality of bell crank levers mounted at the front of said chamber and carrying fingers extending into said chamber, a hook depending from each of said fingers and adapted to engage beneath the forwardmost article in said chamber, means to raise and lower said levers, and means to engage said article after such raising to prevent its falling with said levers.

7. In a vending machine, a storage cham ber for articles to be vended, resilient means tending to urge such articles toward the front of said chamber, a plurality of bell crank levers mounted at the front of said chamber, each of said levers carrying on one arm a finger extending into said chamber, a hook depending from each of said fingers and adapted to engage beneath the forwardmost article in said chamber, the other arm of each of said levers being provided with a slot, a horizontal rod engaged in all of said slots and adapted to be vertically reciprocated to raise and lower said levers, and means to engage said article after such raising to prevent its falling with said levers.

8. In a vending machine, a storage chamber for articles to be vended, resilient means tending to urge such articles toward the front of said chamber, a plurality of bell crank levers mounted at the front of said chamber, a finger pivotally mounted on one arm of each of said levers and extending into said chamber, a hook depending from each of said fingers and adapted to engage beneath the forwardmost article in said chamber, the other arm of each of said levers being provided with a slot, a horizontal rod engaged in all of said slots and adapted to be vertically reciprocated to raise and lower said levers, and means to engage said article after such raising to prevent its falling with said levers.

9. In a vending machine, a storage chamber for articles to be vended, resilient means tending to urge such articles toward the front of said chamber, a plurality of bell crank WILLIAM C. LAUGI-ILIN. 

